February 27, 2026 — SUNTV Global Channel | News
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared that Nigeria is no longer safe for Christians and other non-Muslim communities, warning that peaceful coexistence within the country’s current structure has become impossible.
In a statement released Friday and signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, the group said the ongoing national controversy surrounding Sharia law reflects deep religious and constitutional contradictions within the federation.
IPOB’s reaction followed reports submitted by U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore to President Donald Trump regarding the implementation and impact of Sharia penal codes in parts of Nigeria.
According to the separatist group, while Muslims have the right to practice their religion, including Sharia within their communities, the alleged extension of such laws to non-Muslims threatens religious freedom and basic rights.
“This is not merely a legal debate,” the statement read. “It concerns the survival, safety, and dignity of entire communities.”
IPOB argued that Nigeria’s constitutional claim of secularism masks what it described as “conflicting legal systems” operating within the same national space.
The group further accused authorities of failing to adequately protect citizens from religiously motivated violence, citing incidents in Sokoto State, Borno State, and Plateau State as evidence of what it called systemic persecution.
It also reiterated its long-standing demand for self-determination, insisting that an independent Biafran state remains, in its view, the only viable path to guaranteeing religious freedom and security for its people.
IPOB urged international intervention, calling on the United States Congress, the Knesset, and the broader global community to acknowledge what it described as worsening conditions for Judeo-Christian communities in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has consistently rejected claims of systemic religious persecution, maintaining that the country remains a secular state and that security challenges are being addressed through ongoing military and law enforcement operations nationwide.
